IND vs SL | Twitter pities Charith Asalanka for letting towel cost him his wicket in bizarre incident

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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With technology becoming increasingly embedded in cricket, batters now have the facility to unabashedly challenge calls by the umpire. However, Charith Asalanka surprised everyone as he simply walked back to the pavilion after the umpire ruled him out despite the ball having nicked just his towel.

India piled the pressure on Sri Lanka in the first ODI after setting a mammoth target of 374, as the bowlers kept bowling in tight areas from the start of the innings to keep the batters under check. Mohammed Siraj was sensational with the new ball, picking two scalps, and Umran Malik soon followed in his footsteps by troubling the opposition with his express pace. The bowler was soon rewarded for his efforts in the 14th with the dismissal of Charith Asalanka albeit a grave revelation made by replays of the incident resulted in an amusing moment. 

Umran Malik steamed in and sent a ball flying down the leg side at 145 clicks. Kusal Mendis, having come to the crease in that over itself, attempted to guide the ball towards fine leg but was strangled by pace. A clear sound went up in the air as the ball raced past Mendis’ legs and into the wicketkeeper’s gloves. The bowler went up in appeal alongside the rest of the Men in Blue and the umpire did not take long to raise his finger. In response, Asalanka did not even bother discussing a potential review with Pathum Nissanka on the other end and simply walked back to the pavilion dismayed. 

However, UltraEdge later showed that there was no nick and the sound had resonated from the ball brushing the towel tucked into Asalanka’s waist. There was no contact between the bat and ball, meaning a review would have saved the 25-year-old’s wicket. Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was visibly upset when replays showed Asalanka had failed to detect that the ball had brushed the towel instead of scratching the willow and walked off without even considering a review. 

Twiterrati were quick to notice the sequence of events and soon expressed their sentiments over the incident on social media. 

Paced out!

Towel wins

Where's the bat

Fire pace dominates

Level lowered

Saving review for what!

No spike 

Blind umpires

Not in mood

Lol ultra edged

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